2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

We essentially created a culture shift in terms of how education is perceived amongst the Egyptian society. The education segment in Egypt remained rather stagnant for many years, even more so when it came to media; with very limited visibility and dull representations. The idea of edutainment was a novel concept before the launch of "Al Abakera" and in that sense we pioneered the movement to reform the perception of education. This was the first type of content to promote education creatively breaking away from category norms on TV and Digital media all year long.

Background.

Egypt is currently going through an Education crisis. Schools in Egypt are among the most crowded in the world; Average classroom capacity in schools globally is 20 students vs. Classrooms in Egypt host up to 180 students. Therefore we identified education as a major pain point for Egyptian youth - and highlighted the need to reform. The brief essentially sought to bring our brand's slogan/promise to life 'The People's Bank'. Since the bank is a pillar of both the Egyptian economy and society, we wanted to find a way to give back in a way that is more meaningful and resounding. Our objectives were to develop strong brand recognition and create a more impactful association within the mind of our consumers. We wanted to create a clear shift from the corporate banking perception to a more humanistic and relatable approach to stand out from the clutter.

Describe the creative idea/insights

The National Bank of Egypt - known as the People's Bank - allocates 1 billion EGP annually for educational reform in Egypt. We partnered up with the bank and created an awareness initiative that transcends that of any CSR campaign, in the format of the first and only edutainment TV show of its kind in the MENA region

Describe the strategy.

We partnered up with the bank and created an awareness initiative that transcends that of any CSR campaign, in the format of the first and only edutainment TV show of its kind in the MENA region. We got families, schools, teachers involved and placed the students in the driver’s seat Collaborating with 140 schools over 7 seasons. Our target audience was both youth and elderly, males and females, students and parents, schools and universities, individuals, government officials, non governmental organizations and brands that wanted to stand behind a cause as big as education. We targeted anyone who could get on board with the importance of education and making education cool again. While reality shows and entrainment competitions were highest in viewership, it was time to shift the viewership to a cause that can help lead a better future for Egypt and the region. So, we created ALABAKERA

Describe the execution.

ALABAKERA; this is a show where every question answered correctly raises funds allocated to “Khaznet El Bank Al Ahli” - the NBE’s designated CSR funds volt for educational reform On ALABAKERA there are no losers! Only winners. Students compete - not for themselves or for fame or money or tangible prizes But to raise funds to help fellow students get access to a better education. 7 Seasons aired on ALkahera Walnas TV and Online channels during primetime driving viewership to the show and driving massive viewership and engagement towards a newly introduced category " Edutainment" on the Egyptian TV Grid.

List the results.

We raised over 329,000,00 EGP in funds which were allocated by the NBE to renovate schools and build new schools in Egypt We secured 46 scholarships for overachieving contestants Engaging a massive audience of over 29 million YouTube views and 346,000 Facebook fans with a TV show that is both purposeful and powerful ALABAKERA is an edutainment TV show by the students for the students 2019 is the year of Education in Egypt - The president officially declared this at the end of 2018, but we've known it for years ... ALABAKERA has encouraged increased involvement of both the Government and Ministries of Sporting, Youth, and Education in the support of educational reform initiatives We made learning exciting again for both students and our society And gave EVERYONE a chance to be involved by tuning in to our show Because being smart (on ALABAKERA ) has become cool.